A dead rival is no fun
by rike-with-love
Summary: Author's notes: Okikagu week 2018. Day 6: Role Reversal. Kagura accidentally injures Sougo more than she intended to. Romance, humour.


Author's notes: Okikagu week 2018. Day 6: Role Reversal

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama or its characters. Sorachi Hideaki does. I only own this story.

 **A dead rival is no fun**

"YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!"

"Heh, heh."

An umbrella and katana clashed. A pretty ordinary sight in Edo's park. Two rivals going at it with full force. Kagura of the Yorozuya and Okita Sougo of the Shinsengumi, the most infamous duo of Edo. Sometimes they were on the opposite sides, sometimes partnered-up, nevertheless people knew to stay far away from them.

Sougo had managed to piss Kagura off, though it didn't require much of an effort. She threw kicks at him, but he dodged them all. He tried to hit her, but she blocked him every time. Everything seemed to be a well choreographed dance routine. Kagura was always very vocal about killing him, never actually meaning it. Every attack aimed to hurt, but never lethally.

Kagura launched another attack, carried over by a loud battle scream. Sougo smirked and readied his katana. She jumped at him and he read her movement. To Kagura's surprise he dodged instead of blocking. Her sides were open and Sougo landed a kick on her. She dropped her umbrella from the impact and her body slammed on the ground.

Kagura grunted from the pain, cursing his name in her head. She heard him laughing. Her fists clenched and she jumped back on her feet. Sougo had that same sadistic look on his face as he always did. So annoying. Kagura's eyes studied him from a distance, noticing something purple on his hand. Her eyes widened slightly and she gritted her teeth.

"Hey bastard! That's mine, yes!" Kagura shouted.

Sougo swung Kagura's umbrella in his hand, toying with it to make her more angry. "Oh, not anymore China," he said casually. "Finders keepers."

Kagura felt furious, there was no way she would let him have her umbrella. Sougo made the mistake of turning his back to Kagura. He thought he had a second to mock her verbally before she would attack him again. He thought wrong. Kagura didn't make a sound, she just charged at him.

"I wonder what I'll do with this, maybe I sell it or-," he managed to say before Kagura's surprise kick hit his back. He hissed and crashed down on his stomach. She grinned victoriously and stomped one foot on his back. She reached to pick her umbrella up and aimed it at his head.

"Hah! The great Gura-san has won again! Admit your defeat Sadist!" Kagura gloated. His answer was silence. "Oh...did you finally drop dead bastard?"

Still no answer.

"Hey! Sadist?"

She jumped down from him. Kagura felt nervous for some reason. This wouldn't be the first time he had fooled her, but this time something felt wrong. Kagura kneeled next to his head. She poked his shoulder. "Sadist?" Kagura asked, but no answer.

"Stop playing dead or I'll kill you," Kagura said. She groaned and rolled Sougo on his back. Kagura gasped from the sight. There was a bleeding wound on his forehead. Then she saw a sharp rock on the ground, tip of it bloody. "Oh no, not again."

Kagura realized that she had pushed his head to the rock. Did I kill him? She thought to herself, brows furrowed and eyes filled with regret. This wasn't the first time Kagura had accidentally killed her pet...not that he was her pet, or hers to at all. Still he was sort of her play-mate. "Dammit," Kagura hissed and grabbed Sougo by his jacket. She shook him gently, calling his name (not his real name obviously). "Sadist! Wake up!"

Someone ran next to Kagura. "What happened here?" he asked. Kagura looked at the strange man.

"He, uh, I, umm..." she stuttered.

"I'm a doctor, let me help," the man said and moved to examine Sougo. Kagura observed his actions; he checked his breathing, the wound, his pulse. She glanced at Sougo every now and then. His eyes were shut close, the bleeding wound smudging his forehead entirely. He still looked quite peaceful, like he was sleeping.

The doctor turned to Kagura. "Well, your friend here has a wound, but the bleeding has already clotted quite nicely. There's only a little bit of blood coming out. He is unconscious and needs to rest. I would be more than happy to help you to take him somewhere peaceful."

Here's what Kagura heard: "Well...BLOOD...REST...PEACEFUL..."

Kagura glared at the doctor in utter horror. "I KILLED HIM?" she yelled. The doctor went speechless for a second. Kagura couldn't believe herself, she didn't mean to hurt him.

The doctor came back to his senses and tried to calm the shaken girl. "No, no. He's not dead, only unconscious."

"That's even worse, yes?" Kagura asked and hastily pushed the doctor out of her way. "I'll save him!"

"Bu-but," the doctor mumbled on the ground. Kagura slipped one hand under Sougo's back and the other one under his knees. She used her monstrous strength to pick the passed out captain from the ground. The doctor's jaw dropped. Sougo was much taller and heavier than Kagura, but she still hoisted him up.

"Thank you mr. doctor!" she said, voice not affected by holding a grown man with her arms. Then she ran towards the Shinsengumi compound. The doctor got up and dusted his clothes a bit. He stared at the strange sight of a girl carrying a man.

"Hey! He's just unconscious, he's going to be fine!" the doctor shouted after them, but Kagura was already too far away to hear. The man thought is was best to follow them, just in case.

Kagura ran with full speed across the streets. She had Sougo in her arms, jiggling with her steps, remaining unconscious. Maybe it was better that way...being carried bridal style by a woman might be a blow to certain someone's ego.

Gintoki and Shinpachi were taking a walk as well. "Gin-san, why did you buy so many JUMPs? They are the same copy after all," Shinpachi said.

"Yare, yare Shinpachi...it's my new side business," Gintoki said with a smug smile. "I'm going to buy a lot of JUMPs in mint conditions, and then I'll sell them to collectors, mh."

Shinpachi sighed. "Gin-san...JUMPs aren't that rare...it could take years before-"

"Silence! You're just jealous Patsuan," Gintoki said confidently. Shinpachi rolled his glasses, I mean eyes, I mean glasses rolled their Shinpachi and left the matter at that. Then they saw a red beast running with a cloud of dust after it. "HUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAHHHHH-AARUUUUU!" the beast howled as it passed them.

Gintoki and Shinpachi stopped walking. "Gin-san?"

"Shinpachi?"

"Was that...Kagura?"

"No."

"Carrying..."

"No."

"Okita-san?"

"No, absolutely not. Let's go home Pachi-boy."

"Hang in there sadist!" Kagura shouted as they entered the Shinsengumi compound. All the officers that saw them froze on their spots, mouths gaped open, eyes even wider. Kagura carried Sougo inside the quarters and saw Kondo and Hijikata drinking some mayonnaise and banana flavoured tea. "Mayora! Gorilla-stalker!"

Hijikata and Kondo turned to look at her and spat their drinks like fire-hydrates. Kagura leaped over to them, huffing and puffing from all the running. "Help me! I accidentally killed the Sadist!"

Both men got up and hurried to Kagura's aid. Hijikata was the first to notice the blood on Sougo. "What happened?" he asked with ever growing worry. "What do you mean you killed him?"

"No, he's not dead!" a panting man said. Kondo and Hijikata glanced at the man who was walking to them. "I tried to explain to her, he's only unconscious."

"And who are you?" Hijikata asked.

"It's not important. I'm a doctor and I saw these two youngsters at the park," the man said. "I checked it, his wound isn't serious."

Kondo and Hijikata felt great relief, but Kagura was confused. She turned around with Sougo. "Wh-what? Why didn't you tell me-aru?"

"I did tell you, I think you went into shock, actually you still are," the doctor said.

"You did good China-girl, you brought Sougo back home," Kondo said and patted her head. Kagura's body trembled a little, sweat glistening on her forehead. "Ma, you must be exhausted."

"She's clearly in shock, paleness, shaking and her behaviour is confusing. All of those are symptoms of a shock."

Hijikata felt her forehead with his hand. "It's coldsweat," he said. Kagura looked at all three men talking around her. Then her eyes dropped to Sougo. She felt really happy that she hadn't killed him, a dead rival wasn't as fun as a breathing one.

"So he just needs rest?"

"That's right. And so does her."

"Okay, do you mind patching up his wound doc?" Hijikata asked.

"I'm happy to be of service."

Hijikata turned to Kagura, he saw her gazing Sougo, there was something in her eyes, a feeling Hijikata recognized. He had to slap himself mentally to focus on Sougo. "Alright, I'll take him off your hands, now."

Kagura's eyes darted at him. "NO!" she said and took a step back. "No."

The doctor and Hijikata shared a look. Kondo walked next to Kagura. Her hands digged into Sougo's clothing, it was like she was protecting him, not wanting to let go. "Kagura-chan, how about you take Sougo here to his room, he needs to rest," Kondo said calmly. Kagura looked at Kondo, then Sougo and back at Kondo. She nodded a couple of times. Kondo patted her back and guided her to the right direction.

An hour later at Sougo's room, he had been placed to rest on his futon. His forehead was patched up by the doctor and everything seemed to be fine. Kagura was sitting against a wall, curled up and shaking. Hijikata brought her a blanket. The doctor had advised them to keep her warm and make sure that she gets some sleep.

Hijikata lowered himself to Kagura's level. "Are you okay?" he asked, she nodded slowly and forced a small smile on her face. Kondo placed a hand on Hijikata's shoulder.

"Let's go Toshi." Hijikata got up and the two men left. Kagura snuggled better with blanket, feeling a little sleepy. So she gave in and closed her eyes.

A few hours later, Kagura woke up. It was already pretty late, the only source of light was a small lantern on the floor. It must be night already, she thought. It took a moment for Kagura to realize where she was and why she was there. It all came back to her as her eyes landed on Sougo. He was still sleeping.

Kagura left her blanket and quietly crawled closer to her sleeping rival. She kneeled next to him and watched his chest heaving peacefully. She felt glad that she didn't kill him, but she never wanted to injure him, not like this. It was an accident, but so were those other times I hurt something that was important to me. WAIT, did I just think that Sadist here is important to me? Kagura thought to herself.

Maybe he is, she admitted. The thought of saying it to him made her heart flutter for some reason. Kagura was sure that he would laugh her off if she would tell him anything.

Kagura decided to leave, to go home. Before that, she had something important to do. Kagura leaned closer to Sougo's ear. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Then she backed away to leave.

A hand grabbed her hand. Kagura gasped from surprise. "China?"

Sougo's eyes were open, he was looking at her. Kagura pulled her hand away from his grip. He was quiet, he didn't resist her action. "Oh, I didn't know you were awake..."

Sougo hummed. "I woke up a moment ago, then your knees stomping against the floor took care of the rest."

"I didn't stomp!"

Sougo hushed her by pressing his finger on his lips. "Don't yell dummy, it's night-time," he said. Kagura pressed her lips together and looked away from him. Everything he said felt like he hated her, for what she did to him.

Sougo sat up, gently pressing his forehead. Kagura observed him secretly. He hissed a bit when his hand found the wound. Kagura's head popped up. "Are you okay?" she asked hastily. Sougo glanced at her, eyes a bit confused.

He reached his hand to touch her forehead. "Are you sick?" he asked.

"No..."

Sougo pulled his hand back. "Then why are you being so weird?"

"Huh? Don't you remember?"

Sougo scratched his head and shook his head. Kagura swallowed nervously, she wanted to tell him. "I-I thought I killed you..."

"What?" Sougo asked, eyebrows rising.

"I mean...I pushed you and you hit your head," she explained, avoiding his piercing sight. "Then a doctor told me that you were dead, or so I heard...and then I carried you-"

"Carried me? You?" Kagura's made a quick eye-contact with him. Sougo was in between amused and embarrassed, it was hard to tell.

"Yeah, I carried you from the park to here and then the doctor followed and then you weren't dead, then Mayora tried to take you away and then you were all bloody and then-" Kagura had to stop talking as she couldn't breath properly. She dropped her head on her lap. Sougo reacted quickly and he got closer to her.

"Hey, hey. Calm down China," Sougo said calmly. He raised his hand to stroke her pat, after a second of hesitation he touched her. Kagura didn't even notice at first when he comforted her. She tried to calm her breathing. It became very clear for her how afraid she really had been at that moment. "Are you okay?"

Kagura exhaled deeply and raised her head up, only to see Sougo up close, very close. Their faces were inches apart, the sensation making her heart race. "Uh, yeah..." she said quietly and sat back up, covering her warm cheeks with her hands.

Sougo was still looking at her. "What was that China?" he was too curious to pretend nothing happened.

"I-uh..."

"You're still shaking. Were you that worried about me?"

Kagura took another deep breath, she couldn't talk her way out of this one. "Yeah...I though I had accidentally killed you..." Sougo tilted his head a bit. Was this the same obnoxious girl he knew? She was almost...adorable, he thought.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Stop it."

Kagura jumped a bit, he sounded angry. "Stop it...don't be stupid."

"Stupid?"

"Yeah. We have fought many times before. I know you wouldn't do anything too...you know too serious," Sougo said, his voice quieting down a bit.

Kagura's eyes brightened up a little. "You do? How-aru?"

Sougo turned his face to his side. He mumbled something, but she couldn't even get one word clear. "Did you say something?" she asked.

Sougo sighed, looking very frustrated. "I SAID that I wouldn't **ever** hurt you seriously. That's how I know you wouldn't either."

Kagura's heart jumped. Why it made her feel so giddy when he said that, she wondered. Sougo rubbed his forehead a little. Kagura recognized his facial expression, it was pain. "What's wrong?" she asked and leaned her whole body closer to him.

Their arms brushed a bit, making them both twitch a little. "It's my head, just a little headache," Sougo said.

"I know what to do," Kagura said cheerfully. She backed away from him and crawled at the end of his futon. His eyes followed her every movement. Kagura removed his pillow and kneeled on the spot. "Come here."

Sougo frowned his brows. What was China girl thinking, he though. Kagura patted her lap twice. "Get here dummy, I'll help you, yes," Kagura said. Sougo moved closer to her and she patted her lap again. Sougo pointed at her lap with his finger and then himself. Kagura nodded and smiled.

Sougo dragged himself very close to her and softly and a little nervously laid his head on her lap. She felt softer than he expected. As it was from reflex, his whole body relaxed. Last time he felt that blissfully calm was when his sister held him like this. Their position felt very intimate for him, he wouldn't lay his head to just anyone's lap.

Kagura looked down at him, eyes closed, face completely relaxed. She hummed quietly, this was very intimate for her as well. Kagura knew her mother had done this for Kamui and Umibouzu. For her it was a gentle affection of love...

Kagura stroked his head, feeling his soft flaxen hair tickle her nicely. She would have expected his hair to be rough and slimy, but no, smooth and clean. Kagura sort of pulled his hair back. She traced her fingers gently from front to back, carefully avoiding his forehead.

Sougo let out a loud breath of satisfaction. His eyes popped open. Their eyes locked. Kagura was smiling at him, making him blush. It wasn't like him to show his emotions so openly. Sougo tried escape, but she kept him on place.

"Don't move," Kagura said to him, voice soft, eyes softer. Sougo pulled his blanket up to his chin. Feeling this vulnerable around someone felt scary...but at the same time, it felt good. Kagura ran her fingers on his cheeks, barely touching him. Sougo grabbed her hands immediately.

"China, you're freezing," he said. Kagura shrugged and glanced at her blanket on the floor.

"It's a little chilly here...doesn't the Shinsengumi have enough funds to keep the place warm?" Kagura teased. Sougo snorted and let go of her hands. "Hold on Sadist," she said and prepared to fetch her thin blanket.

"Wait," Sougo said firmly. Kagura halted her movement at his word.

"Uh...China."

"Mmh?"

Sougo felt his face burning from the thought he had. He tried to talk himself out of it in his head, futile. His brain wasn't the one giving orders at the moment, it was his heart. Sougo grabbed his blanket with one hand and pulled it partly off him. She looked at him intensely. Sougo almost pulled the covers back and planned to brush the whole thing off as a joke. But he didn't.

"Come here."

Kagura's eyes widened, heart racing faster than before. "W-what?"

"You're cold...it's warm here. That's all," he muttered, voice not even close to casual, almost sweet actually. Kagura smiled at his suggestion.

"O-okay."

Sougo swallowed. Okay, get yourself together, this isn't like _that_ , it's only practical, he convinced himself. Kagura motioned him to lift his head. She replaced her lap with his pillow. Sougo didn't know where to direct his eyes. If he stared at her, it would be too weird. If he looked away, it would be too weird. He felt ridiculous.

Kagura wasn't cool as cucumber herself either. Heart beating out of her chest, cheeks burning hotter than the sun. I'll be there for just a couple of seconds, to warm myself up, uh-huh, she thought to herself. Sougo at up for a second and Kagura sat right next to him. To her surprise he began to strip. He took his jacket off, then his vest, then his cravat.

"Oi! What are you up to?" Kagura asked, ready to jump off the futon.

Sougo side-eyed her. "I don't want to sleep with my entire uniform on," he said casually (mentally face-palming himself for being so stupid. He wasn't undressing for her, but it seemed to her like he did). Kagura had her black pants, red cheongsam and a light pink top underneath. She turned her back to him and took off her cheongsam, it was a pain to sleep in it. That appeared to be the moment Kagura decided to sleep next to him.

Sougo left his pants on for obvious reasons, he also left his white shirt on, but opened up the top buttons. Sougo turned to face her. "You know China, I didn't-" Sougo almost choked on his spit as he saw Kagura. She had removed her hair ornaments, letting her shoulder-length hair run wild. She had black pants a teeny tiny top on her.

Kagura placed her hands awkwardly on her chest. Did she look so ridiculous in his eyes, she wondered. Sougo pulled himself together and tried to ignore her appearance. "Alright then," he said.

Sougo laid on the bed, giving her half of the space and the pillow. Kagura laid next to him, arms and legs almost touching. Both had a little hard time breathing normally, weird right? Sougo turned to his side and pulled the blanket over them. Their eyes met briefly, making the situation somewhat exciting.

Kagura turned to her side, her back facing him. "Don't try anything funny, yes," Kagura said. Sougo's default answer would have been "No worries China. I wouldn't touch you even with a foot long pole." But no, he didn't say that. That would have been a lie, he had a growing desire to touch her. It wasn't a sexual desire, it was an emotional desire to feel her closer to him.

"I won't," he said, voice neutral as possible.

"Yup, good night Sadist."

"Night China."

The little lantern's light was very dim. It gave the room an orange light. Kagura was used sleep in totally darkness in her closet. It was a little harder to fall asleep with a light on. It might have had some effect, that she had a man next to her, Okita freaking Sougo was sleeping next to her.

It was hard to tell, but maybe a half an hour later Kagura was still wide awake. She was still freezing and it kept her up. Kagura pulled the cover up to her neck and she shivered a little. "Are you still freezing?" Sougo asked quietly.

Kagura turned to look at him, his eyes as awake as her. "Yeah, sorry if I'm keeping you up," she said. Kagura jumped as his hand landed on her shoulder. She felt him pulling her, and she let him. Sougo pulled Kagura on her back and then on her other side, so she was facing him.

Sougo moved his hand over hers. Kagura's hands were curled up against her chest. His hands felt warm. "I'll warm you up," Sougo said and motioned her to come closer. Kagura felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. He pressed both of her hands against his chest. Sougo covered her hands with both of his. He really was warm. He warmed up her hands, but more than that he warmed up her heart.

Kagura stared into his crimson eyes, unable to look anywhere else. His orbs were glued to hers as well. She smiled bashfully as Sougo stroked her hands. "Getting any warmer?" he asked.

"Uh-huh, but..." she said.

"But what?"

"My legs are still a little cold."

"Wrap them around mine," he said without thinking about it.

"O-okay," she said and tangled her legs with him.

The silence returned between them. Only glances were shared and small innocent touches.

"Do you feel weird?" Kagura asked. She was being the brave one to address the situation first.

"A little yeah," he admitted.

"Do you want to stop?"

"...no..."

"Me either-aru."

Those were the last words exchanged that night. The warmness of the bed they shared did it's job. Both Sougo and Kagura began to drift asleep. Idiotic smiles plastered on their faces.

The next morning an angry resident barged into the Shinsengumi compound. Hijikata was the first one to see the silver-haired samurai, followed by walking glasses. "WHERE THE HELL IS OUR KAGURA?"

"Good morning to you too," Hijikata grunted.

Gintoki walked to the vice-commander and yanked his jacket. "Don't you good morning me, where's Kagura?" he asked. "I know that sadistic bastard has tricked her here."

Hijikata pushed Gintoki away, face annoyed to the max. "Would you calm down dammit," Hijikata grunted. "She's here."

Gintoki and Glasseschi were shocked, they were only almost sure that Kagura would be there. "She is?" Gintoki asked.

Hijikata lit up a cigarette and explained the whole thing from beginning to end. "...after I turned on the lantern and checked the room, both were sound to sleep."

Gintoki and Shinpachi sighed from relief. "Come, I'll take you to her," Hijikata said, later he would regret doing so.

Hijikata slid Sougo's door open and slammed it close right away. Gintoki frowned his brows. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Hijikata laughed nervously. "O-oh, silly me. Wrong room!" he said. Gintoki and the person made of glass weren't buying Hijikata's act.

"Move!" Gintoki said and barged to the door. He yanked the door open. Gintoki saw his life flashing by him. He was so dead. Umibouzu was going to take care of that.

Glassman pushed the stunned Gintoki out of his way. He walked into the room. "What are you freaking about Gin-san, It's only Okita-san and OHMYGOD!"

The situation seemed far worse than it actually was. Sougo's shirt was partly open and Kagura's dress was thrown next to the bed. They were sleeping face to face. Her head was burrowed against his chest. His left hand was supporting and holding her head. The other hand was on her lower back, keeping her closer to him. Kagura had even thrown her other leg over his hip. They looked like two lovers snuggled up.

"God dammit Hijikata! How could you let this happen?" Gintoki roared and shook the officer by his shoulders. The glasses had already left the building, the sight was too much for a love-sick virgin. Kagura woke up to Gintoki's screaming. "Shit..." she mumbled.

"Pretend you don't hear them," Sougo whispered, apparently he had woken up too. To Gintoki's further horror Sougo pulled the blanket over his and Kagura's heads. He heard a familiar girly giggle sound under the blanket.

"You're dead Souichiro-kun! Kagura! Stop torturing me!" Gintoki shout-cried, which earned him a sweet giggle and a malicious chuckle from under the covers.

Meanwhile in space. Umibouzu felt a strange feeling in his gut. A striking, ominous pain. "What's wrong baldie?" A cheerful voice asked.

"Oh, Kamui. I think something terrible has happened to Kagura, I can feel it."

Kamui laughed. "Stop being crazy old man. It's not like Kagura got a boyfriend or anything, right?"


End file.
